Sammael
]] Captain Sammael is the current Master of the Ravenwing, the captain of the elite 2nd Company of the Dark Angels Chapter of Space Marines who leads that Chapter's hunt for the Fallen Angels. As a senior member of the Dark Angels' Inner Circle, he fully understands the dangers that the Fallen present to the Chapter and its honour. History Sammael has led the celebrated 2nd Company of the Dark Angels into battle for over a Terran century, inheriting his current role from the previous Master of the Ravenwing, Gideon, as he lay dying, his body shattered by a Chaos Titan. With his dying breath the old Master declared Sammael the rightful successor as Captain of the 2nd Company. Gideon's judgement was later ratified with the unanimous assent of the company's non-commissioned officers and the Grand Masters of the Chapter. As the new Master of the Ravenwing, Sammael's first action came when he led his company in the initial invasion of the world of Rastabal. This action was quickly followed during the Fourth Quadrant Rebellion, when Sammael led the Dark Angels' assault upon the fortress of the pretender Kaligar, one of the Fallen, whose presence Sammael personally ferreted out. He ran the Traitor to ground after a mighty duel that is said to have lasted nearly a day and a night. His next action was leading the 2nd Company against the Orks of Charadon near Rynn's World and Bad Landing to assist the beleaguered Crimson Fists Chapter in retaking their homeworld from WAAAGH! Snagrod. During the orbital drop on Rynn's World, Sammael's Thunderhawk was struck by unusually accurate Ork anti-orbital guns. Sammael did the unthinkable, staging the only recorded successful orbital-drop separation manoeuvre, flying out of the stricken gunship on his Jetbike before the crippled Thunderhawk crashed onto the surface of the planet. As a true Angel of Death, Sammael is privileged to ride to war on an Imperial Jetbike, an ancient war machine left over from the days of the Great Crusade. Armed with a ferocious Plasma Cannon, the Jetbike is feared by the Dark Angels' foes almost as much as Sammael himself. This nigh extinct anti-gravitic archeotech is highly prized, as it has not been seen in the service of the Impeirum in millennia. Launching lightning fast assaults and riding down the enemies of the Chapter from astride his ancient war machine, Sammael cuts down all those foolish enough to oppose him with the infamous Raven Sword. This mighty blade is said to have been cut from the same meteorite as the infamous Dark Angels Sword of Secrets. Sammael is rightly honoured by his brethren and feared by his foes. Wargear *'Venerable Jetbike' - The Master of the Ravenwing is privileged to ride into battle upon an Imperial Jetbike, a nearly extinct form of archeotech that dates back to the earliest days of the Imperium of Man. During the Horus Heresy, many Space Marine Legions fielded similar Jetbikes. This formidable and sleek craft allowed its riders to soar at great speed across the battlefield, held aloft by archaic anti-gravitic technology lost to the Tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus in the 41st Millennium. Sammael's Jetbike is as deadly as its master, for it is armed with nose-mounted Storm Bolters and an underslung Plasma Cannon, itself an example of ill-understood technology, its fusion generator capable of powering many hundreds of shots. *'Land Speeder' - Sammael sometimes makes use of an Imperial Land Speeder built to the highest standards. His personal conveyance is equipped with twin-linked Heavy Bolters and a twin-linked Assault Cannon. The Master of the Ravenwing's personal Land Speeder also incorporates a protective device known as the Shield of Night. This device generates a powerful defensive gravitic energy field around the vehicle, deflecting enemy small arms fire. *'Adamantine Mantle' - Sammael wears a cloak blessed by the Dark Angels' Interrogator-Chaplains within the Inner Sanctum beneath the Tower of Angels. *'Iron Halo' - Worn as a symbol of exceptional bravery and wisdom, Sammael's Iron Halo is also used as a ward against the weapons of the enemy, as it incorporates a powerful Conversion Field emitter that can turn aside even the most deadly attacks. *'The ''Raven Sword' - This infamous master-crafted Power Sword is one of a triumvirate of legendary swords collectively known as the Heavenfall Blades. These formidable weapons are only carried by the highest-ranking members of the Dark Angels' Inner Circle. Chapter lore states that these blades were forged from the core of a meteorite that struck The Rock in orbit around the Feral World of Al Baradad. The mightiest of these blades is the ''Sword of Secrets, carried by the Supreme Grand Master of the Chapter, and the current wielder of that sword is Azrael. The blades wielded by the Master of the Deathwing and the Master of the Ravenwing also utilise small amounts of the obsidian taken from the meteorite in their working. It is also said that a small portion of this meteoric substance was despatched to each of the Dark Angels' Successor Chapters, so that the senior members of the Unforgiven's own Inner Circles would also bear the same heritage forged in steel as those borne by the Masters of the Dark Angels. Sources *''Codex: Dark Angels'', pp. 43-45 Category:S Category:Imperial Characters Category:Space Marines Category:Dark Angels